Mine
by PinkChar
Summary: Three years ago, Itachi Uchiha left Sakura Haruno to die in the snow. Will she pay the price to get the answers she so desperately needs?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: Sweet Dreams**

* * *

_Cold. _

_Cold everywhere._

_Her weak fingers reached up to the figure in her blurry vision that was rapidly fading._

_They longed to touch his dark hair._

"_Ah," The sound slipped from her mouth, the pain._

_What was he doing?_

_She hurt. _

_She hurt everywhere._

_Blood was seeping out, her blood, dissipating in the bright white snow around her._

_Ice crunched faintly as he knelt on his knees beside her immobile body, his black cloak billowing around him in waves._

"_Why…" She started, the blood running down her chin to drip slowly onto the hard ground that winter had decided to frost over._

_She was cold to the point where shivering was impossible._

_He shushed her then, placing his warm hands around her face like he'd done so many times before._

_These familiar hands suddenly didn't feel so familiar anymore._

"_What…" She mumbled, ready to slip out of consciousness._

"_I'm sorry," He murmured. "I'm sorry for what I'm about to do. Don't hate me for this. Please."_

"_Wha-"_

_His lips came down on her bloody mouth gently, softly. He kissed her so rarely._

_Pain exploded in her mind. His mouth was unyielding, he wouldn't even allow her to wrench her mouth away to scream._

_What was happening? _

_Shock flooded her system._

_No… Please… No…_

"_I'm sorry, Sakura…"_

* * *

"Sakura!"

"Sakura? Sakura, wake up! Wake up!"

Her eyes flew open as she was shook violently.

She'd been screaming into her pillow, twisting the fabric round her fingers so tightly that the material had torn a little. The duvet had been kicked into a pile on the floor.

Her head spun as she was pulled upwards and tugged into a man's chest.

_I'm sorry for what I'm about to do._

"S- Sasuke?" She whimpered.

"It's alright, it's alright," His hand ran over her back soothingly, his deep voice calming.

Sakura's eyes clenched tightly. Even now in her warm bed, in Sasuke's warm arms, she could still feel the cold.

_Don't hate me for this._

"I'm sorry," She pulled away, still shaking a little.

"This has got to stop, Sakura," Sasuke growled, holding her shoulders. "I thought this was getting better?"

"It is," She stared glassily up at him. "But I can't stop the nightmares."

He hissed out loud and looked away.

_Don't hate me for this._

"I'm keep telling you, I'll sleep downstairs if you want." Sakura intoned blandly, trying to prise off his hold. It tightened.

"I'd still hear you screaming. It wouldn't make a difference." He looked at her, his lips tight. "And it's not your fault anyway."

She sighed and kissed his neck. "I love you." She needed to say it. Just in case he'd forgotten.

And Sakura was scared of forgetting.

"Why are you still scared?"

"I'm not."

"You're shaking,"

"That's bound to happen after a nightmare," Sakura glanced over at the clock. 3AM. It was still dark out. "You'd think by now I'd be used to it. It's always the same nightmare after all." She tried to inject some humour into her voice, failing miserably.

Sasuke squeezed her small body. "I'll kill him for doing this to you,"

Her pale fingers clutched at his shirt in response, choosing not to answer. Sakura exhaled.

"I think I'm calm now."

Silently, Sasuke laid her back down and wrapped his strong arms around her, cocooning the duvet around her. Their combined body heat was still not warm enough, it was always too cold for Sakura at night.

"Thank you," He heard her say as he drifted off quickly.

She gently traced his pale eyelids with their lilac veins.

"Sweet dreams," She whispered to him, willing herself to sleep. It didn't come.

_Please._

_I'm sorry, Sakura._

How she hated him.

Itachi Uchiha.

It had been six years ago. It had been six years ago that she'd been stolen at fourteen and made his own.

Why?

It had been six years ago that her memories had been wiped, and her life had started over with him. Itachi had been the only thing she'd ever known.

Why?

It had been three years ago that he'd pushed his unforgiving kunai into her body and left her to die in the snow. That brutal winter's day.

It had been three years ago that he'd given back her memories. It had been three years since she'd remembered Sasuke, the husband promised to her from birth. How could she have forgotten Sasuke?

Why?

He'd done this to her, without remorse and with deliberation. She would never forgive him.

Her mind physically burned every time she remembered the scattered fragments of her past.

Happy memories, memories like her ninth birthday and standing on her father's feet as he lovingly taught her how to waltz around the living room.

Her memories all caused her blinding physical pain.

Every happy memory was branded with him, his goddamn presence.

She bit her fist, drawing blood as she stopped herself from screaming with rage.

The day Itachi Uchiha died would be the day she forgave him.

* * *

After taking a hiatus from writing, I decided to republish the new and improved version of this story that I had previously started.

PinkChar


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Awakenings**

* * *

_Flash._

_The first memory that came back to her was who she'd actually been. _

_Fourteen year old Sakura Haruno was a medic ninja in training, and was quickly on her way to becoming one of the best._

_Or at least she had been._

_Flash._

_The next memory shocked her._

_All this time she'd been engaged to the heir of the Uchiha clan. _

_Well, the one who hadn't gone rogue at least._

_How did I forget Sasuke? She panicked, her numb fingers attracting the frost. Sasuke Uchiha, the most eligible bachelor in the whole of Konohagakure. _

_And she'd forgetten him._

_She was a bad person._

_Flash._

_Naruto._

_Kakashi._

_Ino._

_Tsunade._

_Flash._

_The night she'd been captured._

_Sakura and the rest of Team Seven had been attacked unexpectedly on the return from a mission._

_There were two Akatsuki members._

_The descent of a large blade and the beautiful red eyes that she had never really known were the last things she saw._

_The effects of Itachi's mangekyo sharingan were wearing off now. Her pain intensified._

_Please, please let me die, she begged silently to the sky._

_Sakura knew she was still alive despite her wounds. Death wasn't this painful._

_At least not in the stories._

_What was there left to live for?_

_Let me die._

_She was begging out loud now. Screams she didn't know she was capable of were erupting from her lungs, sobs were shaking every bone in her body._

_Please kill me._

_This was her only thought as she was wheeled into an operating theatre, watched anxiously by Sasuke and Naruto who no longer recognised the girl who claimed to be Sakura Haruno._

* * *

Raindrops raced each other down the window that looked over the bleak grey outside. The sky was crying when she couldn't.

Itachi had taught her that much. Tears got people nowhere.

Three years on and twenty years old, and she still wasn't coping well.

Fourteen years' worth of memories returned to her in that instant had come at a price. Not only had she been unprepared for it, but she would have never expected Itachi of all people to have been the one who took them away.

But then, she mused, I never really knew him.

He'd given her the world and taken it away from her.

Her fingers idly traced the scar on her shoulder. She had these all over the back of her body, places where he'd left his mark on her that winter's day.

* * *

"_Will you be back soon?" She murmured, clutching, her fingers twisting in his dark cloak adorned with red clouds._

_When he wore it, it meant he was leaving._

_He left often to carry out assignments with the Akatsuki._

_When he was with her, he wore a plain black one. She loved him in that._

_He nodded, as her arms tightened around him. He never held her tightly enough. She was always the one craving his warmth, craving his attention, always the one chasing._

_But that's how it had always been._

_Every second, every minute she had with him, she cherished. _

"_Don't go outside," He murmured back to her, pulling her reluctant arms away from his body._

_She turned her head to look outside the window. Sakura Haruno had not been outside for three years._

_The one time she had, Itachi had punished her. _

_Outside looked beautiful, the snow falling gracefully from the white sky above. Yet, it didn't tempt her anymore. She had no wish to leave. Outside was dangerous, Itachi had told her._

"_I know," She muttered._

_His fingers tilted her chin up to his face. His eyes were unreadable._

_Where his fingertips touched, she was sure fire would start._

"_And why is that?" He asked, testing._

_She blushed. "Because I belong to you."_

_Even as a seventeen year old girl, who had only truly lived for three, she couldn't help feeling naïve in his presence._

_She was his, and he'd made that clear since the very first moment._

"_Correct," His lips turned up slightly as he turned to leave. "I won't be gone long."_

_Sakura settled herself by the only window in the room she knew as home, already yearning for his presence, waiting for him to come back to her._

_By the time Sakura's eyes fluttered to a close in slumber, the night had fallen, masking the figure that hadn't really left at all._

"_Sakura."_

_Her body registered heat. She sighed sleepily._

_This scent…_

_Her eyes flew open to reveal shocked green._

"_Itachi?" _

_He was here, holding her close to him. Her heart beat a little faster._

"_Quiet."_

_He pulled her into a standing position, her body pressed flush against his. She leant in automatically, relishing the comfort of the moment._

_She was so lost, so lost in his hold, his embrace. She didn't notice the cold._

_The cold of sharp metal at her back._

_His left hand clamped down on her mouth as his right pushed the kunai deeper into her body._

_She wanted to say his name._

_She whimpered._

"_Quiet," He repeated. _

_What are you doing to me? _

_She could feel her blood spreading and soaking into her shirt, as he cut her deeper. Her eyes filled with tears of pain, but even now her vision was clear._

_His expression never changed. Was there any remorse in that beautiful face?_

_He let her collapse weakly into his arms, limp as a ragdoll. Her head rested in between his shoulder and cheek. She let the first tear fall._

"_I'm disappointed. You didn't even try to fight back." He said blandly. _

_Even now she didn't want to register that he'd betrayed her._

_Any moment now, he'd heal her. Any moment now he'd wake her up from this nightmare._

_Sakura could barely make out Itachi shrugging off his cloak to wrap around her. Her favourite black one._

_In spite of what he'd just done to her, he was gentle as he did up the cloak, holding her body close to his._

_He swept an arm under her legs and upper body, and carried her outside._

_She noted his eyes still held no regret._

* * *

_The moon was out and the stars twinkled over the scene from a distance._

_They watched as the man laid the girl down onto the ground with care not to hurt her further, smoothing her pink hair out of her pale face._

_A few words were exchanged and the man leant down to kiss her._

_As he pulled away, her scream echoed around the empty forest, dying down as her eyes stared into black pinwheels surrounded by red._

_The man left a bloodied kunai by her immobile form before standing up._

_Then, after one last look, he turned and walked away._

_He didn't look back._

_By the time ANBU found her at daybreak, Sakura had started screaming again._

* * *

Just to clear up a review from **rawr**, as I explained in the previous chapter, I did take a hiatus from writing on fanfiction and removed my stories from the website because I wasn't happy with them. I previously published the first three to four chapters of Mine a few years ago, which could explain why you may have read this before.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Reflection**

* * *

_"-won't stop screaming!"_

_"Get the anaesthetic!"_

_"No, dammit! Get the Hokage!"_

_Sakura could barely hear any of this, the background noise had been completely muted by a ringing, loud alarm._

_Where am I?_

_Surgery._

_Help me. Itachi._

_A sharp sting in her arm._

_She was breathless. Her lungs burned for more air but she'd forgotten how to breathe._

_The anaesthetic worked through her veins, and her limbs became locked into place on the operation table. She could feel her consciousness fading and she welcomed it gladly._

_Yes._

_Take me away, there's nothing left for me here._

* * *

A knock on the door brought her out of her reverie.

"Sakura? You alright in there?"

She sat up, water splashing around and over the edges of the tub, running off her skin.

Really, she didn't see the point of having baths. You were just sitting in your own dirty water.

Steam was rising in mushroom clouds around the bathroom.

How long have I been in here? She thought.

"Y-yeah," She stammered, her voice coming out higher than she'd planned.

Sasuke pushed the door open cautiously and sighed once he caught sight of her vacant expression.

"I can't leave you, can I?"

He sat on the edge of the tub and grabbed a towel, gently drying her damp hair from where she'd submerged herself completely under.

His eyes lingered on her bare skin before snapping away sharply. The sight of her perfect skin, marred by his older brother angered him furiously.

They remained in silence as he helped her out of the tub, and wrapped her in the big soft towel, pressing her to his chest.

"I feel like a little kid," She breathed with a smile.

He chuckled, his breath dusting over her hair, making the strands quiver with excitement.

She drew the cloth tighter around herself and smiled up at him, her smile faltering as it always did once her eyes locked with his.

This face, this mouth, those eyes. She knew him.

And yet, these familiar eyes did not know her.

The first time Sasuke had seen her after three years, in that grey clinical hospital room, had led to him walking out and punching a wall.

They hadn't even exchanged any words. Just a look had done enough damage.

For the next few months after, his eyes only held contempt for her. She hadn't changed at all, and still, every single thing about her was different.

The difference was breath taking. Those green eyes which had only ever held warmth, now only held distrust. The huge grin that would appear on her face every time he entered the room, would now only form a hesitant smile.

His own eyes had never stopped searching for the girl who used to be there. Sakura would always look away, sensing the desperation in his gaze.

And she could feel her heart breaking further, when she realised that even when she tried, she was still letting him down.

"I'm fine," She placed her hand on his cheek, and he flinched slightly, though he determinedly kept his eyes on hers.

Sasuke nodded, and his hands fell away to his sides.

Sakura watched his back as he left the room, letting the towel drop and crumple around her ankles. The steam had gone with his presence.

She ran her fingers over the surface of the bath water, skimming it, reliving another memory.

Itachi used to sit on the floor by the tub as she washed, keeping a dry hand entangled in his long dark hair. They would talk about inconsequential topics, until the water went cold and the sun had gone down.

He would talk to her about everything, and his depth, and intelligence never failed to amaze her.

"Let me inside your brain," She'd once asked him, earning a rare smile of amusement.

She used to love it when he spoke. His deep timbre, how the tiniest bit of rare emotion would come out.

Her fingers that once caressed his hair so delicately, grabbed the plug roughly and pulled. The water drained out of the bath, taking away the remainder of her thoughts before they could fester.

* * *

Sasuke wished he hadn't walked in.

Sakura was standing by the window, moonlight ghosting over her features.

It was the expression on her face that scared him. Those green eyes that would disappear into the distance, set in pain.

She could smile at him every day and tell him that she was fine, but her eyes would always give her away. She'd never been a good liar.

Those lips, that belonged to him had been kissed by the same person he'd sworn revenge on all those years ago. They were set in a tight line, pulled tightly like a rope across her face.

Her pink hair that was kept short. The reason had never been spoken but of course Sasuke knew why.

Itachi had never allowed her to cut it. When ANBU had found her, her hair had been past her waist.

Cutting it gave her control. Cutting it gave her the satisfaction that she hadn't succumbed to his every whim.

But as hard as she tried, she could never escape. Itachi was in every part of her: her blood, her mind, her soul.

How Sasuke wished he could save the girl who'd become the mirror image of his older brother.

* * *

PinkChar


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Restrictions**

* * *

"_How are you feeling, Sakura?"_

_Her long pink hair was draped over her face, resembling the way dead spirits were portrayed in the movies. _

_The white, loose gown certainly did not help._

_Sakura's head lifted a little, and the green eye that was visible through the tresses narrowed._

"_Like shit." She muttered, turning away from the nurse who was scribbling notes frantically on her clipboard._

"_Of course Sakura, but that's only to be expected-"_

"_And how would you know?!" Sakura snapped furiously. "Actually, don't answer that."_

_The nurse nodded, apparently unaffected by Sakura's blatant rudeness._

_Sakura growled under her breath. She had an array of expletives ready to let loose on the tip of her tongue._

_The nurse sighed and looked at the pink haired kunoichi condescendingly. _

"_Well obviously there's no way to know Sakura. I've never been in your… position." The nurse sniffed._

_Beyond pissed and seeing all kinds of red, Sakura grabbed the nearest scalpel on the bedside tray and flung it at the nurse wildly._

_The door suddenly crashed open and a dark blur caught it before it could hit the nurse squarely in the forehead._

_Sakura's gaze widened as her eyes locked onto familiar eyes._

_Sasuke. Those dark eyes._

_Her heart stopped and the silence was tangible._

_Sasuke had frozen, his eyes traveling wildly over her form that had matured drastically since he'd last set eyes on her._

_The long hair, the firm muscles and those sharp eyes that took his breath away._

_But this wasn't Sakura, surely? _

_This was not his fiancée._

_Sakura had a temper, but he was sure she would have never been capable of killing a fellow resident of The Leaf._

_His fists clenched around the scalpel, drawing blood and her eyes drifted down at their movement._

_This was all Itachi's fault._

_His eyes narrowed and he left swiftly, leaving Sakura dumbfounded and staring at the space he had just run away from._

_The nurse dropped her clipboard loudly. She couldn't even form the words._

* * *

The minute the trio stepped into the dark but elegant room, Kakashi stepped towards them with a raises hand.

"Go through, the Hokage's been waiting."

Tsunade didn't look happy. But then she never did when she had a lot on her mind.

"Team seven," She barked, making Naruto jump. Sakura rubbed his back soothingly.

"You know why you're here."

"Sure! New mission time!" Naruto grinned. On the other side of Sakura, Sasuke smirked.

"Your mission brief." Tsunade hesitated before flicking it from her desk with a well steadied hand. Sasuke caught the scroll securely.

"As ever, I want you to memorise it and prepare. The mission begins on Tuesday, a day from now. Kakashi will answer any questions. That's all, you're dismissed."

Sakura started, this had to have been the quickest mission brief she'd ever been present for but she filed out after her teammates regardless.

Tsunade must really be stressed today, she thought.

"Sakura." Tsunade's voice was like a whip, and Naruto jumped again. "A word please."

She shrugged at Naruto and Sasuke's concerned glances, turning around back into the room and closing the door behind her.

"Ma'am?" She asked, hesitantly.

The Hokage rubbed her forehead wearily. She looked aged.

Shizune shuffled beside her nervously. Even Ton Ton was quiet.

Sakura could feel her pulse racing, what was happening?

"I don't know how I can put this in a better way, Sakura." Her honeycomb eyes focused intently on Sakura's, making her tremble. "I will not be allowing your participation in this upcoming mission."

Her apprentice frowned. "May I ask why, Lady Tsunade?"

Tsunade stood up from her head, turning her back to face the window that looked over the village from her office.

"I'll tell you Sakura but I don't know how you'll take this. Please keep in mind we are doing this for your best interest."

Sakura clenched her fists for the blow, her black gloves straining.

Somehow, before the words had even come out of Tsunade's mouth, she already knew.

"This mission involves Itachi Uchiha."

* * *

Please review.

PinkChar


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Guilt**

* * *

_Wonderment spread over her face as she stepped into the Uchiha compound, into Sasuke's room._

"_It hasn't changed at all." She muttered, taking in her surroundings._

_Every little detail called out to her._

_The unmade bed, the faded wood of the wardrobe, the bare walls._

_Her hands drifted over photo frames. She was in so many photos. _

"_It's been three years," Sasuke said reassuringly from behind her, his hands coming to rest on her shoulders. "But you've not been gone for as long as you think."_

"_And yet it feels like a lifetime," She spun around to face him, a bright smile lighting her face. "It feels so good to be out of the hospital." _

_Sakura wished she could tell him that it was good be to hone._

_Sasuke smiled a little, taking a strand of her pink hair and letting it slip through his fingers._

"_Is there anything else you want to do today?" He asked._

_She'd been officially discharged from the hospital earlier, and had spent the day dragging him around Konoha, reminding herself of certain sights and smells._

_Sakura nodded and held out a kunai to him, its blade gleaming._

"_Would you?"_

"_Again?" He asked exasperatedly. "This'll be the second time this week." _

"_I know but I can't do the back by myself. Please?"_

_He sighed. "Alright."_

_He sat on the bed, and she sat on the floor between his legs and leant back, her head in his lap._

"_How much do you want off?"_

"_About an inch?"_

_Sasuke sucked in a breath as he used the blade to slice tufts of hair off, watching it fall around his feet like feathers. _

_It was already shoulder length but she wanted it gone._

_She sighed in comfort and leant back as his smooth strokes worked their way around her head._

_Itachi had prized her hair. It was a trophy._

_Her eye stung as a single strand fell into it, but she let them water. A single tear rolled down her cheek unbeknownst to Sasuke._

* * *

"Sakura?"

She was staring at the wall, sitting on their bed cross legged biting her nails.

She was trying so hard not to smash something that her nails were raw and bleeding.

Frown lines were etched on her face and she knew there was no point trying to hide it from Sasuke.

He stopped his packing and sat with her, pulling her fingers away from her mouth.

She looked at him blankly. "What?"

"Stop eating your fingers."

"Sorry."

He sighed. "What are you thinking about?"

Her lips puckered up childishly. "It's not fair."

He closed his eyes. He never used the sharingan in front of her anymore. It scared her. "It's for the best."

She let out a noise of distraction and pulled her hands out of his.

"Why do people keep telling me that? Do I seriously look that incapable of taking care of myself?!"

"Sakura, you know no one thinks that."

"How would you know?" She griped.

He shook his head. "Look I know you're mad, but Tsunade won't change her mind."

He got up and resumed packing for the mission. To infiltrate and retrieve information on the Akatsuki.

She watched him place the clothes she'd folded for him in the rug sack. Jealously coursed through her, packing for missions was something they always did together, and not it seemed like she was being left behind.

"Sasuke?" She asked suddenly, deep in thought.

He looked up and smiled at her. "Yes?"

"How much do you love me?"

He frowned. "Why?"

"Just answer the question."

"You know the answer to that."

"On a scale of one to ten?"

"Twelve, why Sakura?"

She stared sadly at him, a dimple forming in between her eyebrows.

"If you really love me… Then help me get on this mission."

He slammed a hand down on the drawers loudly. The wood splintered.

"No. Don't even bother, alright?"

"Please?"

"I said _no_." He glared furiously. "You're unbelievable. You heard Tsunade! No."

"But it's important to me!" She yelled indignantly, shock clear on her face.

Why wouldn't he help her?

Playing the guilt card was low, she knew that, but why was no one listening? She banked on Sasuke giving in.

"If you loved _me_, Sakura, you wouldn't be asking me for this!"

"It's because I love you that I'm asking you for this!"

He came over and kissed her once, harshly.

"This is ridiculous, you're not going." He growled, ending the argument.

Her fingers cupped his face. Her lips curved up as she whispered into his left ear and kissed him.

"This isn't over."

* * *

Thank you: wolfy-sama and oliviabenson, and everyone who has followed/favourited.

Update soon. PinkChar. x


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